Intriguing story of Shoji Morimoto
Bidyut Kakati
(bidyut.kakati42@gmail.com)
The history of World Mental Health Day can be traced back to 10th October 1992, when then Deputy Secretary General of the World Federation of Mental Health, Richard Hunter, officiated the day. Initially, the aim of the day was simply to educate the public about mental health conditions. But gradually, with the support of the representatives of over 150 countries, World Mental Health Day became a global phenomenon, and in 1994, it was celebrated with a theme for the first time. The suggestion for keeping a theme for the day was provided by then-Secretary General Eugene Brody. Similarly, this year's theme as announced by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) for World Mental Health Day 2022, is 'Make mental health for all a global priority".
Carl Gustav Jung, the influential Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology once said, "Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity''. Correctly observed by CG Jung, a person may not be positive all the time, sometimes he may experience sadness, and sometimes feel annoyed, frustrated or even anxious. But having such feelings does not make a person negative.
No matter how rich, renowned and well–off we are, our social status cannot uphold us from falling prey to the tentacles of torturous poor mental health. Whether it is Nishabd fame British – American actress Jiah Khan, Pop Star Katy Perry or American Singer Lady Gaga, all have experienced their battle with mental depression, including American artistic gymnast Simon Arianne Biles whose mental health issues were considered to be the prime reason behind her early exit from the Tokyo Olympics, 2021. Actor Sushant Singh Rajput's battle with depression for the past few months just prior to his untimely demise has also put to the fore, the need for mental healthcare in our daily lives.
The reasons are many. Today in the modern world where competition and expectations are high from all corners, we start experiencing excessive or inappropriate pressures right from our student life where parental pressures are placed on young children for achieving their academic goals till the time we retire when we experience undue work pressure, stress which is considered to be one of the root causes of depression among youths. Today in the modern world direct social interactions are losing ground and people, especially the youth, prefer to connect themselves through the medium of the internet which further strengthens seclusion among the youth. Additionally, modern-age newly married couples mostly prefer living in a nuclear family than preferring to living in a joint family for fear of losing their independence or privacy. Loneliness and social isolation have become common issues for many youths studying or working remotely who have distanced themselves from families/societies to pursue their goals. Collectively, this diverse experience they face can trigger loneliness. Loneliness is considered another principal cause of depression among the youth and there is a plethora of evidence that social isolation and loneliness considerably increase the risk of premature mortality. The world has witnessed how celebrities like Chester Charles Bennington, the lead vocalist of the rock band 'Linkin Park', and Robin Williams who played the role of Alan Parrish in 'Jumanji' have tragically lost their lives while battling mental illness. The United Kingdom, in the year 2018 became the first country to appoint a minister of Loneliness following the example which the then Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga appointed Tetsushi Sakamoto a minister of loneliness to his cabinet the problem of loneliness and isolation has been linked to suicides among the youths. On the contrary, Madhya Pradesh became the first Indian state when Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, a yoga enthusiast set up a 'Happiness Department' to improve the mental and physical health of its citizens. The other much-needed steps India has taken towards mental health reforms are the introduction of 'National Mental Health Program' (to address the huge burden of mental disorders and shortage of qualified professionals), 'Mental Health Care Act 2017' (to meet the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) 'Manodarpan' (to provide psychosocial support to students, family members and teachers for their mental health and well-being during the times of Covid-19), 'Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System' (MANAS) a mobile app to promote mental wellbeing across age different groups etc. The decriminalization of suicide U/s 309 of the IPC, 1860 by presuming a suicidal person to be "suffering from severe stress'' is also worth mentioning.
Against this backdrop, the name of Shoji Morimoto also needs a mention as several media platforms are abuzz with the news of this Japanese man. With the surge of such rising cases of poor mental health around the globe, this 38-year-old Japanese man has found his own unique business model. Mr Morimoto has probably the best job that can envy many because he earns by "doing nothing". His clients pay him Rs 10,000 yen (Rs 5643 approximately in Indian currency) per booking when they need a human presence. His lonely clients also rent him at the time of travelling or when his clients need someone to accompany them to wave them goodbye, some rents him when they need a person to talk/ listen to them or for having a meal together, or need a person to play on a see-saw or a divorcee taking his moral support at the timing of filing a divorce case etc. Morimoto also rented when one of his clients wanted him to listen to his murder confession, which according to Morimoto was the strangest of all the requests he received so far. The fact that Japanese are not good minglers and 'Hikikomori' (a Japanese term which describes a condition that affects adolescents or young adults who live isolated from the world, cloistered within their parents' home, locked in bedrooms for days, months or years) is on the rise in Japan, in the year 2018, with one tweet his creative idea swiftly went so popular on the social media that today he has huge followers of nearly around 300,000 (approximately) on Twitter. His unique business model has also led to several published books, besides inspiring a television drama series, 'Rental Nan mo Shinai Hito'. Currently, he is providing financial assistance to his family comprising his wife and children with his unique idea of providing accompanying people. According to this Japanese man he was previously working for a publishing company, and he used to often get criticized for "doing nothing" this was where according to him his innovative business idea came from. While most of us would feel the stress after losing a job which can take a heavy toll on our mood, relationships and overall mental and emotional health, this man on the contrary bounced back and instead started his unique business.
The quotation of Carl Gustav Jung (as stated above) exactly fits him, 'Even a happy life …It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity''. Kudos to this Japanese man for his new endeavour.